Also included in the lineup are Serena Ryder, Bridgit Mendler, Victoria Duffield, Shawn Desman,
Massari and Jully Black.

The scaffolding and stage have been rising for over a week

"With Canada’s most diverse lineup of musical talent, City New Year’s countdown show invites viewers to ring in 2013 with millions of their closest friends during the 28th annual City New Year’s Bash, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/CT and 8 p.m. MT/PT. Hosted by Citytv and Rogers Radio on-air personalities City New Year’s Bash 2013 will usher in the New Year live with exciting musical performances, and loads of family entertainment in front of tens of thousands of revelers from Citytv’s three party centrals: Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, Olympic Plaza in Calgary, and Churchill Square in Edmonton."

Sunday, December 30, 2012

White crystals blanketed the urban park at the edge of Lake Ontario across from the Redpath Sugar factory. Believing a freak windstorm had blown the sugar onto the umbrellas and Muskoka chairs I tasted the white stuff, after several minutes and a touch of frostbite on my tongue I knew that I was incorrect. It was winter in the city.

Members of the Aboriginal community and their supporters began a demonstration in the lower level of the #Toronto Eaton Centre around the fountain. The December 30, 2012 flash mob started in the early afternoon and was in solidarity of Chief Theresa Spence and her request to meet with Prime Minister Harper.

The Chief has been on a hunger strike since early December and is currently living in a teepee along the Ottawa River. She did meet over the weekend with former Prime Minister Joe Clark.

"Idle No More is a peaceful organization that is working towards profound social, political, and economic change. Our goal is to use education to build consciousness and awareness in all Canadians on the resurgence of Indigenous sovereignty and environmental protections. We are working on building relationships within our communities as well as across Canada and globally. We also call out to each community to organize teach-ins and peaceful demonstrations – we believe an educated public is the best form of action. Each community has different needs, and we support the various actions that are taking place across Turtle Island, however because of the many decades of colonialism, some community members are seeking stronger forms of action such as blockades. While we need to protect the land from further damage, we hope that this will be used as a last resort to protect Mother Earth, and not as a symbolic act. We are working hard to maintain INM as a positive movement that includes all cultures in a vision for justice for all people and for our earth."

Posted by Joe Hamilton. See more of the peaceful gathering after the jump.

New Years Eve is tomorrow night and on New Years Day you can wash away 2012 with a refreshing Polar Bear Dip in Lake Ontario at Sunnyside Park. I went by the beach during the latest brief spurt of winter that provided a nice blanket of white fluffy stuff and no one was swimming in the cold water yet. And you should really practice being a polar bear before the actual event.

Dinosaurs think that the snow is the start of another ice age

The dip happens January 1, 2013 at 12 noon (arrive at 10:30am for registration and pre-dip events).

Saturday, December 29, 2012

The snow stayed away from the GTA leading up to Christmas, then on boxing day we started to get hit with the white stuff. Saturday, December 29, 2012 brought some more and the roads around the city were slick.

Friday, December 28, 2012

A red eyeball graffiti painted on a bridge pier in #Toronto. It is a beginning but we have to remember that nothing lasts forever, especially not graffiti. Also 2013 is just around the corner so 2012 is pretty much done.

More graffiti from under the Bathurst Street Bridge crossing the railway lands, just south of Front Street and adjacent to Old Fort York.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Speed freaks can quench their appetite with a @HondaIndy Boxing Week sale - it ends Jan 2, 2013, or when the ticket limit has been reached.

IZOD IndyCar races will return to the race track in Exhibition Place during the July 12-14, 2013 weekend doubleheader on the Streets of Toronto.

There is only a few days left to take advantage of the offer: "SELECT 2-DAY START/FINISH GRANDSTAND TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF A SINGLE DAY, OVER 30% OFF - $85 per ticket (SAVE $40!) BUY TICKETS Offer valid Friday December 21 at Noon through Wednesday January 2, 2012 at midnight. * Limit of 150 2-day Start/Finish Grandstand tickets available for purchase."

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Champagne and fireworks are the stuff of New Years Eve and if you are adventurous you can always take to the airways and hit one or all of Expedia's top five destinations for Canadians to ring in the new year; 1) New York - $329, 2) Las Vegas - $646, 3) Fort Lauderdale - $637, 4) Orlando - $629 and 5) Miami - $631. The prices shown are average round trip ticket prices for stand-alone bookings on Expedia with departures between December 27-31, 2012.

"Regionally, New Year’s Eve destination preferences varied. Las Vegas was the only city that made the top five list for each market studied – Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Consistent for all departure cities was the prevalence of warmer southern destinations such as Orlando for East Coast departures and Los Angeles for those out West. New York, world-famous for its countdown in Times Square, appeared only as a top destination for travellers flying out of Toronto."

Expedia also offers a Boxing Week Sale where you can even find savings up to 50% on their hotel bookings.

Doors Open

Scarborough Bluffs

Pride

Redball

Beaches

Graffiti

Lake Ontario

Nathan Phillips Square

Transportation

About Me

Covering the adventure and excitement of life, sports, entertainment and more in Canada's largest city - with over 41 million content views and over 1.7 million YouTube views ... Join me as I explore the streets and venues that are found in our beautiful metropolitan community.